1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mounting and supporting a brake cylinder lever on a railway car.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Brake cylinder levers are conventionally mounted on a railway car in a generally horizontal position which in the past has required cutting an opening in a portion of the center sill of the car to enable the lever to move and pivot sufficiently to apply the car's brakes when the fluid-operated brake cylinder is actuated or extended.
The opening in the center sill inherently weakens the sill so reinforcement of the center sill adjacent the opening is generally required. This construction generally is expensive to fabricate and adds a significant amount of extra weight to the car. Additionally this conventional lever arrangement has no inherent biasing tendency to bias the brake cylinder toward the closed or "brake off" position.